June 2007 MMA News Archive

Do you have a hot MMA story or news item that you have found and would like to share?
Then read our guidelines then post it to our MMA News Share Forum to have it display here for the community to read on this page.

CONTRACTS, CONTRACTS, CONTRACTS
Two of the hottest prospects in MMA have been busy fielding offers lately, but so far, neither one has signed. As part of the fallout from the ownership change-up of Pride, Denis Kang and Thierry Sokoudjou are looking for new homes.

One man is fighting to retain his standing among the game’s elite. He is fighting to show the world that he is still a box office hit and a legitimate contender for the title he defended more than any light heavyweight champion in UFC history. Back-to-back losses, however, could do serious damage to his standing both with fans and within the division.

The recent injury Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (16-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) suffered will not keep him from making his scheduled Octagon debut at UFC 76.
Master Rudimar Fedrigo, Rua’s trainer at Chute Boxe, told MMAWeekly.com that it was nothing more than a little knee pain and that Rua will continue doing his physical-therapy sessions.

November 9, 2003. For almost ten minutes at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira went through hell. In a battle for the interim PRIDE heavyweight championship, the Brazilian was battered and bloodied by Mirko Cro Cop, forced to absorb the Croatian’s legendary left kicks to the head and body, and thrown to the side like a bag of laundry with almost every takedown attempt in the round’s late stages.

Would not let me insertweblink so here is the site.........http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4242&zoneid=13
Justin Levens, a member of Marcu Ruas’ So. Cal. Condors in the IFL, has signed a 3-fight deal to fight for the Palace Fighting Championships. He will compete on the promotion’s Oct. 18 event at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif.
“I’m very happy to be back fighting there. I have always loved fighting in Lemoore. The crowd and the fans are the best,” said Levens. “It’s always a good high-energy level there. I have a good fan base there, they’re always happy to see me and I’m happy to fight for them.”
Levens fought at the Tachi Palace under the WEC banner when Lemoore was the home of the WEC.
As a Condor, Levens lost all three of his IFL fights, but still brings a respectable overall professional record of 9-6 to PFC.
Fights confirmed for PFC 4 on Oct. 18:
-Olaf Alfonso vs. Thomas Denny
-Shad Smith vs. Poppies Martinez
Fighters confirmed for PFC 4:
-Lodune Sincaid
-Jorge Evangelista
-Brian Granados
-Morris Aldaco
-Luis Gonzalez
-Jeremy Luchau

This found at Ufcjunkie.com (would not let me insert web link)
Promising UFC newcomer Houston Alexander (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will face UFC veteran Alessio Sakara (11-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC 75 in September, according to Alexander’s camp.
Earlier today, UFCjunkie.com (www.ufcjunkie.com) debunked recent rumors that Alexander would instead face light heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 1 Forrest Griffin. The rumors surfaced from alleged comments Alexander made at a regional MMA show this past weekend.
Instead, Alexander has agreed to fight Sakara, who most recently defeated Victor Valimaki with a swift first-round TKO at UFC 70. Both fighters are expected to sign fight papers next week to make the bout official.
Last month at UFC 71, Alexander — a 6-to-1 underdog — defeated the heavily favored Keith Jardine with a quick and stunning first-round knockout. The Omaha, Neb. DJ and hip-hop school lecturer hasn’t lost a professional fight in more than six years.
He’ll now take on Sakara. Earlier this month, UFCjunkie.com announced that the Italian boxer was expected to appear on the UFC 75 card, which takes place in London.
Before his UFC 70 victory, Sakara had lost two in a row (to Dean Lister and Drew McFedries). In previous UFC fights, he defeated Elvis Sinosic and earned a no-contest (groin kick) with Ron Faircloth. He’ll now go for the first back-to-back UFC victories of his career.
UFC 75 takes place at The O2 arena on Sept. 22.

Nick Diaz, who is signed with ProElite, has requested to face Frank Shamrock as soon as possible. After a spectacular win against Takanori Gomi, Diaz seems intent on enrolling himself for higher profile fights. With both fighters fighting in the same organization this fight seems the logical next step in what would be an MMA fan's dream come true.
"I watched his last fight and no disrespect intended but I think I would whoop his ass.", stated Diaz. A formal offer of intent has been delivered to the promoters to set this fight up and now we await their response.
Wouldn't that one be an awesome fight?

Rumors that UFC light heavyweight Houston Alexander (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is set to face Forrest Griffin (14-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in his next UFC fight are not true, according to Alexander’s trainer and coach, Mick Doyle, who spoke to UFCjunkie.com (www.ufcjunkie.com) today.
The rumored Alexander vs. Griffin fight surfaced from comments Alexander supposedly made at an Omaha Fight Club show this past weekend. Doyle, though, firmly denied the rumors.
“As far as the Forrest Griffin rumor, there is no truth to that, although we would love to fight him,” says Doyle. “I am pretty sure Houston did not say that (he would be fighting Griffin) to anybody at that fight.“
Of course, this news does not eliminate any future possibility for a fight between the two light heavyweights. It simply means that there is no truth — at this time — to the rumored bout.
Last month at UFC 71, 35-year-old UFC newcomer Alexander defeated the heavily favored Keith Jardine with a swift and stunning first-round knockout. Alexander was a 6-to-1 underdog entering the fight.
The explosive Alexander may have made a serious impression on UFC fans with his dramatic upset victory, but he’s not letting his recent success go to his head.
“It’s been crazy, but I’m ready to fight tomorrow,” says Alexander. “As soon as I got back from Vegas, I was back in the gym. I was back in the gym at 5:30 a.m. the day after I got back.“
Alexander’s coach confirmed his fighter’s intensity and motivation.
“Houston is so focused on his training,” says Doyle. “He’s training three times a day and never misses a practice. His ground game is progressing significantly, and his attitude is great.“
Doyle is a former world champion kickboxer who runs an impressive Muay Thai and grappling gym in Omaha, Neb. (www.mickdoyle.com). Doyle has trained some big names in Muay Thai, such as Renzo Gracie. Alexander also trains with Willie Stewart and Curlee Alexander.
We plan to have news of Alexander’s next opponent later today, so stay tuned to UFCjunkie.com.
Source :

UFC veteran Tito Ortiz is complaining that the organization isn’t promoting him properly, and as expected, UFC president Dana White didn’t take too kindly to the accusation.
The former UFC champ and the organization’s head honcho recently opened up to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports.
As Ortiz prepares for next weekend’s UFC 73 main-card bout with rising light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans, he says the organization isn’t giving him the exposure he deserves. In fact, Ortiz says the slights are intentional and a way to drive down his price come contract-renegotiation time.
White says the accusations are laughable.
From :-
“There’s a billboard of his big ugly gorilla face at the busiest point in Las Vegas,” White said, “where it can scare kids who are riding by in their cars. Guess whose ugly head is on our billboard in Times Square?
“He’s a moron: A complete and total moron. His whole career, he’s stepped over a dollar to pick up a dime. I’m sick of him. It’s time he started beating up someone other than a nearly 50-year-old Ken Shamrock.“
White also said the UFC has an ad set to run in USA Today on July 6 which has a picture of the lightweight and middleweight title belts that are up for stake at UFC 73 on the top half of the ad and has Ortiz’ and Evans’ faces on the bottom of it.
“Does that sound to you like we’re ignoring him or not promoting him?” White said. “I’ll tell you what it is, it’s more proof, as if anybody needed any, that Tito is a moron.“ -
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva faces Nate Marquardt in next weekend’s main event, and lightweight champion Sean Sherk takes on Hermes Franca in a second title fight. However, as White mentioned, the Ortiz-Evans fight is getting a big part of the spotlight — especially for a non-title/non-main-event fight.
In fact, when you head to the official Web site for UFC 73 (73.ufc.com), it’s Ortiz and Evans — not next weekend’s title-fight competitors — who get top billing.
Despite the war of worlds, White did mention during yesterday’s UFC 73 media conference call that he expects Ortiz and the UFC to come to terms on a new contract. But Ortiz, who has two fights remaining on his current deal, hasn’t sounded as optimistic in recent interviews.
Next weekend’s UFC 73 event takes place at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif. and airs on pay-per-view.
Read Full Story here at
Source :

Former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver is headed for the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 145-pound division, according to a recent MySpace message from Duke Roufus.
Pulver will make his debut at WEC 30 on September 5 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This doesn’t come as a surprise, considering “Lil Evil” alluded to the switch before and immediately after his recent bout with BJ Penn (a loss) at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 Finale. For that fight, he came in weighing 152 pounds and didn’t have to work to make the cut.
By his own admission, when in shape, Pulver is a natural for the lighter division. And, the UFC currently doesn’t feature anything below the 155-pound class.
It should be a good move for Pulver, who seems reborn after being a coach on TUF 5 and preparing for the rematch with Penn. He won’t have it easy, however, in the WEC.
Urijah Faber — the uber-talented 145-pound WEC champion — and others in the division provide top competition. But Jens seems up to the task, and there’s no doubt that he won’t disappoint fans.
Pulver always puts on a show, win or lose.
The WEC main card, which also features “Razor” Rob McCullough vs. Rich Crunkilton, will air live on Wednesday, September 5 on Versus Network.
It should be a good one … don’t miss it.
Note: Roufus — a Milwaukee-based Muay Thai coach — trains several mixed martial artists and UFC fighters, including Stephan Bonnar, among others. He made the Pulver announcement during a promotion for a seminar that is taking place on July 21 in Milwaukee for which Pulver is the featured coach.
Source :

From the HBO deal to recent PRIDE FC rumors to the showdown between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva that may not happen, UFC President Dana White and four fighters answered wide-ranging questions today during the conference call to promote UFC 73: “Stacked.”
Sam Caplan over at was on the call — along with other reporters and UFC fighters Rashad Evans, Tito Ortiz, Sean Sherk and Nathan Marquardt — but we’ll summarize his summary.
That’s because there were some interesting topics discussed.
Here’s what we found most intriguiing:
White “scoffed” at the claim that the HBO deal is dead. In fact, White said that the UFC was, “right about there with the deal.”
Old PRIDE FC contracts, according to White, are valid with Pride Worldwide —the new company that owns PRIDE FC. However, a lot of the fighters on the PRIDE FC roster are signing with the UFC because the status of the promotion is uncertain right now and they want to fight. And reports that PRIDE FC running a show anytime soon appear to be untrue, according to White, because there is still so much that needs to be sorted out regarding its future.
The blockbuster fight between Liddell and Silva is a little overblown and that it is unlikely to happen at UFC 76 on September 22 if at all so soon. In fact, Liddell could actually return in November.
Evans’ uncle wants Ortiz to “pay for all the years the black man was enslaved” after the “Nappy Headed Ho” comments.
Sokoudjou may not be allowed to fight in EliteXC (he’s legally tied to PRIDE FC for two more fights) despite reports that he signed with organization.
White called the people who reported Ken Shamrock would fight Michael Bisping as, “Internet Knuckleheads.” Who, us? He went on to say that he doesn’t believe Shamrock is still a UFC-caliber fighter and that Shamrock should consider retirement.
That’s our recap of the recap. Head over to FiveOuncesOfPain for the entire scoop.
Source :

MMAWeekly.com now has an interview available with Frank Shamrock. In the interview, Shamrock indicates that he will likely need knee surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL and a partially torn meniscus. He’s waiting for the swelling to subside before a final determination is made about surgery.
Shamrock said that he respects Phil Baroni and that he feels everything is settled between the two. Once his knee is healed he indicated that he wants a rematch with Renzo Gracie.
To read the whole article just go to:

411Mania Interviewed Tito Ortiz. He talks a lot about his upcoming fight with Rashad Evans, his preparation for the fight and his future with the UFC. There is a brief discussion about a possible Fighters Union, which Ortiz said he wouldn't mind running.

Hard-hitting UFC light heavyweight Houston Alexander “hinted” that his next opponent would be none other than Forrest Griffin, according to .
Alexander “mentioned” that it was a “possible” match up at a recent appearance at an Omaha Fight Club show. Therefore, this should be treated as nothing but a rumor at this time.
However, it is an extremely juicy 205-pound showdown, which is the reason we’re passing it along.
Griffin is coming off a unanimous decision win over Hector Ramirez at UFC 72: “Victory” earlier this month. It wasn’t a typical Griffin performance — by his own admission — because of a two factors:
Injuries and caution.
Not only was he recovering from a serious staph infection leading up to the bout in Ireland, but he was also concerned that his chin might be compromised once again.
That’s because Keith Jardine knocked out Griffin at UFC 66 in the first round. In his next fight, however, Jardine was crushed in the first round himself by Alexander at UFC 71.
Interesting twist to say the least.
Alexander is new to the Octagon, but the 35-year-old is not new to mixed martial arts. We didn’t get to see much of him in his debut other than his ridiculous punching power.
Something that Griffin would more than likely want to avoid at all costs if the two do indeed meet inside the cage.
Alexander did mention that his next bout inside the Octagon will be in August or September … so let’s wait and see if Joe Silva calls the number of the The Ultimate Fighter season one winner to be his opponent.
We’ll update this story in the coming days, weeks and months ahead.